Infiniment Coty Paris, The Extraits of Amber Magic

From fantasy to reality, Amber is a most magical note in perfumery. It takes the idea from the ‘stone’ Amber, which, of course, is hard and has no scent as such. This fossilised tree resin, typically millions of years old, formed from the hardened mineral sap of prehistoric trees, and is prized for its warm yellow, orange, or reddish-brown colour. So what is its story in perfumery, and how does it lead us to three new exquisite Perfume Extraits from Infiniment, Coty Paris? Find out more, here in Infiniment Coty Paris, The Extraits of Amber Magic.

Amber colour

The Amber we know in jewellery is a fossilised resin that smells of nothing until burned, but its golden colour and the warmth it radiates as a ‘precious gemstone’ inspired perfumers to create a new scent profile.

What is an Amber Scent

The idea originated from a desire to combine warm resins like Labdanum, a sticky resin from the Cistus plant that provides a leathery/ambery scent, Benzoin, a sweet, balsamic resin, and Vanilla, intensely sweet and creamy, into a ‘note’ that felt luxurious, sensual, and ‘golden’.

The Amber Perfume Result

The result was a warm, sweet, powdery, and balsamic smell. Perfumers called it Amber because it matched the golden-brown colour and luxurious, ‘all-encasing’ idea of the fossilised stone.

Perfumery Meaning

This modern Amber note in perfumery was not invented as a ‘note’ but grew from several other factors. It emerged in the late 19th century following the development of synthetic Vanillin, the primary organic compound in Vanilla. It was first popularised by the De Laire company, invented by George De Laire in 1878, who pre-made fragrance accords, essentially ‘mini-perfumes,’ created by blending synthetic aroma chemicals with natural raw materials. These are called Accords and are the building blocks for modern perfumery. From this work, De Laire developed the famous ‘Ambre 83’ base, later utilised by Guerlain to create the perfume Jicky, which is often considered the first modern, ‘abstract’ fragrance, and by François Coty in his pioneering Ambre Antique.

Ambre Antique

Ambre Antique, a soft amber fragrance created by François Coty in 1905, is considered one of the most important fragrances in modern history because it was the first modern Amber perfume, effectively launching the ‘Amber family ‘ of fragrances (formerly Oriental), a revolutionary scent that bridged the gap between traditional perfumery and the dawn of modern synthetic chemistry.

Joseph Marie François Spoturno, born 3 May 1874, was a French perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher, politician and patron of the arts. He was the founder of the Coty perfume company and is still considered the founding father of the modern perfume industry.

So important in the history of Coty in its modern-day iteration are the key notes and perfumes that the house brought to the world of perfume. As well as being an early user of mixing natural with synthetics (to allow all to afford perfumey), he created an entire fragrance family, Chypre, in 1917, as well as producing the first modern Amber perfume. He also cleverly partnered with René Lalique to create beautiful vessels for his juices.

It is this heritage that Coty has taken from their treasure trove to bring three new extrait to us to explore, in the Infiniment Collection.

Infiniment Coty Paris is a 2024 luxury fragrance brand and collection launched by Sue Nabi and Nicolas Vu, reviving Coty’s heritage with modern, high-concentration scents, in celebration of Coty’s 120th anniversary. The collection features extrait de parfums designed with ‘spherical’ profiles and patent-pending ‘Molecular Aura’ technology, designed to slow the evaporation of notes, ensuring a long-lasting, high-performance scent experience for up to 30 hours. The line contains 14 scents from light morning moments via end-of-day seductions to full-on rich evening fragrances.

Now three new scents have been added ot the house, each an expression of Amber but radically expressed, and upping the intensity.  Encore une Fois L’Osmium, L’Amour Pourpre L’Osmium, and Après l’Amour L’Osmium. These fragrances are an impressive, intense 41% oil-concentration, utilising the same MoleculeAura technique from the initial collection and are reinterpretations of their original amber scents. The word Osmium refers to a dense metal, the rarest and most precious in the world.

Encore une Fois L’Osmium, by Fabrice Pellegrin, opens with spice, rich and warming, followed by a sultry and resinous heart of Frankincense, and finished with a base of rich, soft, creamy woods of  Amberwood, creamy, comforting Vanille, with facets of ambery musky, honey, with a hint of smoky tones from Labdanum and sweet Vanilla, soft spice of Cinnamon, and gentle resinous levels via Peru Balsam. Alongside, also find the legendary perfume base Ambréine S included here from the original Ambre Antique.

The elixir opens to warm and comforting richness, developing into an enriched heart that trails into a Vanillary-Ambre that is intense and enveloping with a long-lasting silage.

L’Amour Pourpre L’Osmium by Dora Baghriche is the next interpretation that opens with a highly refined, sweet, and intensely floral Lavender bringing green-citrus top, faceted with bright fresh zing of Bergamot and a herby light camperous note via Sage. The top echoes in the heart with rosey-green-citrus of Geranium, bringing a balanced, crisp, aromatic centre. But it’s the finale that echoes out this unusual Amber scent. Here, an Ambery-Vanilla meets the earthy richness of Patchouli, Labdanum and the legendary synthetic perfume base Ambréine S from the original Ambre Antique.

A perfume with the wonderful tension of bright Bergamot, aromatic freshness of Lavender and Sage, with a warm, rich, deep, and slightly resinous Amber flourish, a very unique exploration of the liquid gold of Amber.

The final juice in the three new extracts is Après l’Amour L’Osmium by Fabrice Pellegrin. This is a unique, deep smoky version of Amber, opening with bright, spicy notes of Pink Pepper and energetic, fiery, radiant duality of citrus-warmth via Ginger. The heart brings spice and smoke via the warm, sweet, and intensely spicy aroma of cinnamon and honey, caramel, and smoky woody undertones from Tabacco. Amberwood starts the Amber trail here with an Amber accord, again that legendary facet of Ambréine S made up also, with Benzoin and Vanilla. This fusion of notes makes for a woody, ambery fragrance, with smoky facets that bring an almost bejewelled, Byzantine elegance to this juice.

In a world where everything is about here now and gone in seconds, having a heritage of this magnitude allows us all to be part of all our experiences. François Coty was one of the most important figures in the history of perfumery, and these three fragrances bear testament to his brilliance.

Explore all the Coty Infiniment collection here at infinimentcoty.com

If you enjoyed reading Infiniment Coty Paris, The Extraits of Amber Magic, then why not read A Love Letter To Lost Flavours here